


Tales of the Returned

by DigiConjurer



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure tri., Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (Movie)
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, One Shot Collection, Original Character(s), Post-Digimon Adventure tri., Post-Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (Movie), coming home
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26620867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigiConjurer/pseuds/DigiConjurer
Summary: With the defeat of Ordinemon and REDACTED, the first of many waves of digimon partners find themselves thrust back into the Human World. These are their stories.
Kudos: 2





	1. Story 1 - The Cow goes moo

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Renamon was surprised to find herself back in the human world once more. Not because of anything really happening on her end (she had been making herself some tea before a hole appeared under her feet to whisk her away), but more the result of not receiving an advance notice of such travel. At least everything was still the same as before. The city still had the same sort of smells, the same sort of sights. A nostalgic breath of fresh air after all the years she had spent stuck in the digital world.

"Where are you, Daniel?" the vulpine digimon thought and scanned the streets below for any sign of her partner. He was a dweeb kid the last time she had seen him. An absolute cakewalk of a task. If not for all the strange animals walking about the streets below. Cows, lions weren't supposed to be purple or a wide variety of other colors the last time she had checked. Nor did they walk on two legs with regular people. "Something is going on."

But for all her investigative prowess, the answer stubbornly eluded her. Someone was definitely taking glee in her inability to find a kid in a crowd of anthropomorphic animals. Not that such thoughts were enough to stop Renamon. Daniel was her partner after all. What if he was sick? What if someone had kidnapped him and was demanding a ransom from his family? Or maybe this was a case of both, meant to draw her ba-

Before Renamon could complete that thought, a pair of arms wrapped her chest. Looking down to the body parts, she found them to be white fabric with pastel lavender spots. Ending off with two makeshift 'hooves', whoever made this costume had put a lot of time and effort into looking their best. None of which Renamon really cared about.

"Unhand me, cow." she muttered, the plush bovine's grip tightening around her body. What was this cow thinking? She didn't know any cows. Let alone any that had lavender spots all over their body. Probably should get that checked out. Maybe right after they checked with a doctor to make sure everything was alright with them. The last thing someone needed was a trip to a psychiatrist for an incident of them digivolving into a cow. Even if that would be an impressive feat for a human to do. Beyond the point. "You have five seconds to unhand me and explain what the heck is going on down below."

The cow let go of her, a sigh following as they did so. The vulpine digimon turned around and did a double take. No way that this could even be possible.

The cow was still standing there in all its strange and bizarre glory. Now, the head of the creature was held within their hooves. In place of the bovine's head, now stares back that of a man's.. His hair was left short, but a bit on the greasy side. But those chocolate brown eyes, Renamon knew them.

"Daniel, what is the meaning of this?" the vulpine digimon screeched and pulled her arms back. Cow or not, she would not stand for this trickery. Why he had even thought this was okay was beyond her. This was blasphemy. Absolute blasphemy. How could he not see that such acts just made it even less likely that they will get pulled apart once more. Though, she knew of no tales of digimon and their partners being separated over a costume. But there was a first time for everything.

"I always thought you were hot… but didn't want to push the subject in the first place." Daniel remarked and got a punch from his partner. Right to the face, but nothing that an ice pack couldn't heal if given enough time. After, the vulpine digimon's focus shifted over to the mask. In between the cowbell and horns, quite a major amount of time had been put into the mask. Perhaps too much time. "Am I in trouble for this?"

Renamon looked away. While the threat to kick Daniel's butt was still up in the air, maybe it was best to let it slide. She had just gotten back. What could be the worst that could happen?

.

"I am not going to another event." Renamon announced, shoving her snout even further into her book. Just because she had accidentally gone to one didn't mean she was interested. Quite the opposite in fact. No one was going to make her go. Holding her ground, nothing would break her res-

"That Persiamon will be there." Daniel countered, his partner's gaze shifting back over to him. While the cow costume was currently in a suitcase, he was already thinking of possible improvements. Perhaps he could get his partner to dress as a farmer. That would sell the costume better. But right now, just getting her to come with him was a good enough start for now.

* * *

Notes:

And so begins a new series from me. Man. That's weird to say. Think of this as a collection similar to AWC, just with the theme of digimon coming back to a world that's just a 'little' bit different from when they were last here.


	2. Story 2 - Searching for Pluto

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Imperialdramon looked over the paper one more time. While Examon's penmanship skills left a lot to be desired, she could clearly see what was listed down here.

"Let me get this straight, you want to go to the human world… in order to find out what happened to one 'Sailor Pluto'. Is that correct?" the dragon spaceship digimon inquired as she set the paper down.

Examon nodded.

'You idiot.' the voice within them announced, unsure of how to even make sense of what their other part had decided was the best way to go about this. There had to be a bunch of reasons better for getting out of this job. But no, this idiot just had to go with the first thing that came to his mind. Better than writing something moronic like 'princesses' or 'candy'. How the hell had they become the one controlling the body to begin with? If they got their head stuck in a pickle jar, it would take them an entire day just to get unstuck. It was a fucking pickle jar. Even Crusadermon could get his head out. Even if said head was so far up Alphamon's unmentionables. Just the thought alone was too much to think about right now. No, he needed to just bide time till they passed over. Then the chance to break out of this prison would come and all would be right in the world. Or something like that.

"I don't see any reason why you couldn't go over." Imperialdramon continued, pulling a massive stamp and pad out. Inking her possibly oversized piece of wood, care is taken to actually stamp approval on the piece of paper. "Best of luck on your trip."

Examon nodded, exiting the makeshift hovel as he did so. So what if the other part of them didn't understand his reasoning for this? It was only a matter of time before they got pulled back there by their enemy. Better to do it on your own terms than that of Homeostasis.

"Let's go!" the dragon knight announced and headed to the far edge of the compound. Even with the storms and other weather patterns of the last couple years, the damage done by that crazy punching asshole. Did he really need to go that far? Couldn't it just be enough to punch the crystal once?

"I don't know… Maybe it would help if you actually didn't hyper fixate on writing fucking fanfiction about her." their other part announced, watching within as their vessel got to operating the Royal Knight-sized telephone booth. Quite a challenge when your wings make up 80% of your body in the horizontal direction and the actual body looks like a slender twig. "Just grab the dang phone."

Examon rolled his eyes and reached inside the booth. Spinning the dial around, he held the phone up to his head. The world began to spin around, the ruins of King Drasil fading out and the massive stretches of urban buildings taking its place.

"Thanks, idiot."

Examon's body shook about as cracks began to form. While he probably should've seen this coming from the get-go, it wasn't a huge deal in his mind. Now that he was free from the other part's influence, he could think about whatever he wanted to - Candy and getting back to his partner. But where exactly should he start? The city was massive and he was large. Well, he was no longer large or Examon for that matter. No, a little blue dracomon had taken his place, with a green one already heading off to parts unknown like the coward he was.

Letting out a deep breath, Dracomon got to walking. If he walked far enough, maybe something would come to him related to his partner. Heck, there was a chance that his human was walking about running errands. That would be a win-win in everyone's book. Except green Dracomon. He probably throw a tantrum about that. Even as Examon, they would do it constantly. Usually over the most meaningless things just for a reaction out of the other knights and anyone they were supposed to be helping. Maybe that was why he strived to be just like Sailor Pluto. Always helpful, even in the face of a possible temporal paradoxes and possible death. Sort of like the cardboard cut-out of her standing in the window of a store. A perfect place to start. Just needed to get insi-

As it turns out, getting inside means ripping the door right off its hinges. Setting it down beside the frame, he stepped on inside.

"Welcome to Anime World, could please not do the same level of destruction that you did to this door?" the cashier announced, trying his best to make out the little dragon digimon. Easier said than done while various popular anime songs blast out while overpriced anime baubles for all the mainstream anime. Yes, the main market is to the edgy teenagers. Fresh out of elementary school, but not quite have access to a level of disposable income that would permit them from getting the really nice stuff. Especially stuff like swords and ninja stars.

"Pluto." Dracomon announced and headed for the cut-out. Picking it up, this would be a cinch to get out of here and to his partner. A perfect plan if he had ever seen one. Actually working said plan to the letter, though? That remained to be seen. "Thank you!"

Heading for the doorframe, the little dragon digimon pulled the cut-out through. Or would've, if not for a hand picking up his tiny body. Looking up, he found himself looking at that of a familiar woman. Locks of green hair trailed to the waist, a pair of green eyes judging him. He had clearly messed up.

"Natalie?" Dracomon croaked, a sigh exiting the woman's lips. Hand pulling away from his body, time is taken to smooth out her blouse and pants. Both of which were covered in a mix of sawdust and wood shavings.

"What am I going to do with you?" Natalie remarked and looked to the discarded door. Propping it back up, her attention turned to the cashier. Scared out of his mind, they had taken to arming themself with a katana. Doesn't look like it cut butter, let alone a digimon. Even if said blade could, he was likely to be consumed by the little dragon digimon. "Sorry about that, Nick. If I had known this little guy would pop up, I would've grabbed him."

Nick's gaze swung back over to Dracomon and gulped. The katana was placed back on its stand, resheathed for good measure. Right next to the overly decorated shield hanging on the wall. Looks to be missing a sword. Probably sold to someone as single items rather than a set. An odd decision on the part of the store.

"Does that mean I'm off the hook for my missing woodwork assignment, Ms Blackwood?" Nick answered and got a look from the woman. Focusing on the cut-out, she got to moving it back to where it originally stood.

"No, you still need to complete your birdhouse. I will pay for the door once my paycheck comes in." Natalie remarked, focus returning to Dracomon. Setting him down, she grabbed hold of her partner's hand and pulled him outside. A million different thoughts surged through her head. Where could she even begin with the little guy? The moment after that weird bee lady captured everyone? He was one of the royal knights after all. They had to be sort of aware of what had happened. She would be very disappointed if he had been involved with the prior invasion.

"What happened to Pluto?" Dracomon answered, providing the answer to that question in his own unique way. Natalie took a deep breath.

"She died, so Sailor Moon did her magic stuff and she came back to life." Natalie answered, getting treated to a look from her partner. In retrospect, the answer was kind of obvious. Not that he really seemed to mind.

"Told you so." a voice added, Natalie and Dracomon turned around. A green dracomon was now staring the pair down. Nothing in the way of weapons, if one didn't count their fists. "See? You're just as much of a moron as I told you we-"

Natalie scooped the green dracomon up.

"We'll be having none of that language." the teacher remarked, letting out a deep breath after. Grading projects and writing lesson plans would have to wait. Right now, it was time to catch up. Maybe dole out a couple overdue punishments and figure out how much money it would cost to repair the door her partner broke. After that, maybe marathon Sailor Moon again. Yeah, that sounded quite nice.

* * *

Notes:

Having watched through Kizuna, I actually enjoyed it. Not perfect and definitely needed some breathing room, but a solid follow-up to Tri. Even if parts of it imply that Maki and Daigo were somehow unaware of *beep's* experiments, which doesn't make much sense.


	3. Story 3: For her own good

I don't own digimon.

The following chapter contains swearing, on top of a touch of ableism (discrimination of those with disabilities).

* * *

Layla didn't understand what was going on. It hadn't been her intention to head to her parent's home. Especially after getting an apartment. No, she was going to run a couple errands. Errands that didn't take her anywhere close to this forsaken place. But by some strange force, she was back here. Fuck. How long had it been? Sometime after high school, probably right after all those people fell into comas. It seemed like yesterday when that occurred. The fact that she could so vividly remember it was less of a blessing and more a neurological curse. She wasn't anywhere close to that crazy woman or anyone afflicted with her twisted sickness. No, Layla had gone about her day like nothing had happened. There was no strange feeling, no second guessing of a kissing part to herself that could be filled by the presence of a digital partn-

Layla didn't get to finish that thought, an ovaloid object slamming into her forehead. Reaching down, her hand met a charred digivice.

"Okay…" she thought and brought the device up to her head, a million different thoughts running through her head. Why would someone go through the trouble of trying to destroy it? These things were damn near indestructible. You could probably drop it off the Empire State Building and it wouldn't break. Probably look even newer than when you got it initially. The nature of these things. Like how some people just get out ahead even though their abilities are so woefully unprepared for the tasks assigned. She worked her ass off every damn day. But no, she was too 'childish' for a manager position. Whatever the fuck that meant. Just one more reason to deny her advancement. Screw SSI, screw DVR and all the other similarly-named agencies that seemed to only shackle her from actually getting work beyond the measly twenty hours they allowed. Twenty hours was for those incapable of strenuous work. She was more than capable and ready. Crap. She had gotten on a tangent in her own hand and gone completely off track. Didn't matter. She was going to get to the bottom of th-

"We're doing this for her own good."

Vertigo set in, gravity doing the rest of her work. God, why did it have to happen now? She had been doing so good too. Staying out of trouble, working on her college assignments…

.

When Layla's eyes opened up once more, she found herself not laying on the pavement in her childhood neighborhood. Instead, the college student found herself sitting on a chair in an unfamiliar room. The walls were covered in strange symbols and red marks, with little in the way of anything to really tell where one wall began and another began - not counting the doorframe. As for the floor, that was a shapeless void with darkness swirling about.

That didn't explain the lack of any rope or tape to bind her. Why go through all the trouble of pulling her in from the outside. Unless they had some kind of grudge or vendetta against her. When was the last time that had happened? Probably in middle school. It was also the last time she had actually been in a public school. Everything after that was done in private places meant to 'cure' her. Whatever the fuck that meant. Could one really cure Autism in the same way that you could with some infectious diseases? It definitely wasn't the result of vaccines. If it were, those scientists would've probably changed the method of which they were created and how they were given. Or at least, give alternate ways for people to be immunized. That was common sense. Something that felt like a rarity these days. Not hard to really gain too. Even in the face of all the idiots swirling about this country. But that was the least of her worries at the moment. No, she needed to get to the bottom of where she was and why she had been dragged there in the first place. Only an idiot wo-

Screams brought an end to that thought, forcing the college student up on her feet and towards the door frame. Poking her head out, she took the time to look for the source of the scream. But try as she might, the person or perhaps digimon eluded her. How rude of them. At least give a sign that there definitely was someone there.

"Do you know how long I've waited?"

Turning around, Layla found herself facing down a large hulking mass of black something or other. Maybe if it was a bit smaller, it would probably look like a teddy bear. Maybe it was a teddy bear gone wrong. Occasionally, there would be a story around campus about one trying to attack people for not accepting their hugs. Even after being scolded for that behavior by their partner and told to wait in the special digimon lounge. If she was a seven foot tall teddy bear, she would just smash people with her massive arms. Maybe then people would actually pay attention to her. Man, that would be a hoot. Not that Layla would actually do that. The charges alone would be nearly impossible to cover on her shoestring budget because of fucking SSI. Hard enough to get an apartment, let alone a car. At least public transport was manageable. A bit slow, especially when they're never on time.

"Uh.. are you listening? I'm your partner." the back blob announced, screams echoing back from further in the building. Much as those people needed to be rescued, that was the least of her worries. No, she needed to get to the bottom of this supposed digimon partner thing and how she fit into it.

"If you're my digimon partner, then why didn't I know about you?" Layla countered, trying her best to find the face of whoever this digimon might be. If it was a digimon. She had seen cosplays that were at or well exceeded the art of the character. This didn't seem like one of those cases. No, even those cosplays had a way of telling whether or not there was a person under all of that.

Yet, her opponent let out a sigh. Then it's right back to looking at her. Well, that's what it looked like from her angle.

"I was burned alive." the digimon announced and grabbed hold of Layla. "Your moronic parents thought the best solution to me appearing was to douse me in gasoline with the digivice and set it ablaze."

The words roll out. Try as Layla might to scour her head for any memory of such a time, none came to her. It was as if it was eluding her for the fun of it. How awful. If she could just fucking focus for longer than a couple of seconds. God, why did it have to be today of all days?! She was already stressed out enough without everything else in the world going wrong. In between juggling a job, school and a social life, this mess had no fucking place in her life. Why didn't they understand that? Did anyone actually take the time to even try to get to know her? Was there really anyone who would care.

"I'm doing this for your own good." the blob continued, only to get a foot smashed into their body.

"If it was for my own fucking good, then why didn't anyone tell me?!" Layla screeched as she smashed her hands into the digimon. Stumbling back, everything began to swirl about. The walls became the floor, the floors became the walls - vice-versa. Nothing about this made logical sense. At some point things had to reach a breaking point. But when exactly? Or by what exactly?

The answer as it would turn out, came a couple seconds later. Bright light flooded her vision, eyes forced shut. Gravity took hold once more, pulling her towards the floor. But no impact came.

.

"Miss?"

Layla's eyes fluttered open. The strange room and the black blob digimon thing were gone, getting replaced with the sterile walls of what she could only assume to be a hospital. That, or an insane asylum. Possibly both.

"How did I get here?" Layla whispered, the nurse's gaze turning to the door. This was a damn near easy question to answer. At least in her mind. She couldn't have gotten back up after the seizure and walked over to the hospital. That's just silly.

"It would be easier if I let him explain rather than me." the nurse remarked and headed over to the door. Pulling it open, in came the black blob. Well, it was more of a large teddy bear creature thing.

Now, Layla could make out their features - the few patches of yellow skin that hadn't been burned away, the patches on the legs. Heck, she could make out the part of the eye that had been replaced in the past.

"Layla, I'm sorry this took so long for me to meet you." the teddy bear explained as he walked in, bending down to meet his partner. "I know this probably is not the way you expected to meet me, so let's try this again. I'm Monzaemon."

Layla looked up to the oversized teddy bear. Reaching out, her hand met his. Even beyond that weird seizure coma, she was just going to make the most of this. Like that one time...


	4. Story 4: Ya Boi

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Keith scanned the room one more time. As important meetings went, this was one of the most important in his life. Never had so much been at stake in a time no business person could ever imagine. The digital world was an opportunity unlike any other. To be one of the first businesses to have a location on the other side, they would be well ahead of the competition for some amount of years if this went through.

"When is the representative for the digimon going to appear?" the businessman inquired and was treated to a look from his assistant. Even with twenty minutes left to go, their scout had not uttered a peep over their communication device nor anything in the way of an actual visual on who the digimon of the area were having to represent them. Even with ample time given, the matter of crossing over in the right place remained to be seen. Let alone achieved.

"Patience." his secretary remarked, placing her hand next to his. Much as Keith preferred her to not do that, he let it slide. Just this once. Any other time and the implication that they were somehow a couple would spread throughout the office. He was married for starters. Secondly, his significant other would be absolutely pissed. "They should be coming over any second."

Keith nodded, focusing back on the laptop. Damn near everything was usable as a digiport these days, under the right circumstances and with the right clearances from the government. Both of which his company had. Still a long way to go before everything could move to civilian use. If at all. Exceptions existed, but those were

"Come on. It can't be mu-"

Keith didn't get to finish that thought, light erupting forth from the laptop. He and his secretary stepped back, a large humanoid figure making their entrance. Of all the digimon those fuckers could've picked, it had to be him. Maybe the rumors about the ruler of the digital world being an absolute mad bastard. The sort that took sick pleasure in the suffering of those beneath them.

"It's ya boi, Beelzemon!" the figure announced and looked at Keith. Smile forming on his face, they found a chair hurled their way. "Man, I would think that you would be a lot more receptive to my retu-"

A fist made short work of whatever statement, Beelzemon not even flinching. Instead, he grabbed hold of his opponent's hand and pulled it down. A perfect opportunity to place him back

"Don't you ever give me that attitude again. Is that clear?!" the mega screeched and slammed the laptop's lid down. His subject rolled their eyes, already reaching for his phone. Of course Beelzemon would show up. Always boastful and threatening, the very reason that he tried to stay far away from conflict. Tried to compromise when the need arises, all that stuff. All to have it come crashing down right before his very eyes, thrown into a fire with too much in the way of oxygen. How the fuck was he going to get out of this situation? Better yet, could he even contain the storm that would erupt from his coming actions? Or would this be the day he got the boot?

"You can shove it." Keith countered, hands raised back up. In a business environment, to take this lying down would be an insult to everything he had worked for. His employees would just need to understand that this was as important as the business deal itself. Okay, probably not as high on the chopping block, the point still stands. "I didn't not come all this way, working my ass off just to even get to this point. I will not let you belittle me or my employees."

His opponent rolled his eyes, putting up a gun. Pointing it around the room, quite a number of bystanders deciding now was a good time to duck under the meeting table. Maybe wait this whole thing out and see who's left standing. Hopefully.

"What? Afraid that you'll fall right into the same trap your dear old daddy fell into?" Beelzemon countered and squeezed the trigger. The blast shot out of the weapon, bouncing about the walls and coming very close to the people hiding under the table.

"What if I am?" Keith answered and picked his briefcase up. Flinging it at his partner, the projectile was met by another blast. Thankfully, the briefcase won out in this fight and knocked the gun to the ground. "I didn't build this business from the ground-up just so that you could remind me of my failures."

Closing his eyes, memories of long before this day flooded back into his head. Of all the times that everything he did amounted to nothing in the face of those above him. The scars that never healed right and the wounds that he could still feel after all those years. All for it to burst open.

"Then you shouldn't have be-"

Beezlbemon was unable to finish that sentence, a large metal hand smashing through the wall and grabbing hold. Pulling the mega digimon back out, the now much larger hole found use by a different hand.

"Lunch." the source of both hands announced, a lunch box dropping onto the table. The second hand pulled out, a large red eye staring through taking the place of it. Keith made his way over, waving once he got there.

"Uh… that's my digimon partner, Ophani." Keith remarked and watched the eye pull back. A strange look followed, their focus turning to the Beelzbemon. "You're allowed to play with him, just don't kill him. Once you're done, take him back home."

Ophani nodded, making sure to wave as she headed off. Then it's right back to his secretary. How was he going to explain this? 'Oh yeah. My husband has an Ophanimon Falldown Mode. She's docile and likes to watch Magical Girl shows.' How many of his own employees would think he was crazy? All of them. This was going to be his last day at the very business he had built up.

"Wait. You had a digimon partner?" his secretary remarked and got a nod from her boss. Letting out a deep breath, she watched him gingerly pull it back open. Making sure that he hadn't broken it, his focus returned to her.

"I still do." Keith answered, looking over to the overturned chair. At this point, could the deal even be salvaged? He just let the representative for the digimon be carried off for a pitiful attempt at revenge. No way this situation could be turned aro-

"Is this the meeting spot?" a voice called out, a large green gourd-looking thing with durians for hands poking their head above the table.

"Yep." Keith answered and flipped the thrown chair back around. Watching the digimon sit down, he made his way back over to his chair. "Welcome to the headquarters of Arctic Knife Company. Feel free to speak freely about any objections on our proposal?"

The gourd nodded, one of their durians reaching out for his hand. Meeting partway, the pair shook on it. So much for the fear of missing out.

* * *

Notes:

For those of you drawing a blank on who Ophani is, she's from the initial run of Returned in AWC. And yes, that chapter will be coming to Tales of the Returned.


	5. Things get better

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Ophanimon Falldown Mode does not understand why they've awakened back on this side. If anything, such summonings should be a bad omen for an ender of conflicts. But why didn't it feel that way?

"Scanning…" it robotically announces, examining the surrounding area. An urban zone, buildings and green spaces galore. Perfect for the creation of organic, non-digital life. Sort that would one day rise up and get their own little digital monster, the cycle repeating once more

But the building Ophanimon Falldown Mode has their focus on was a small church. Relatively well-built and sturdy, more than enough to hold her weight "Scan complete."

It was certain they were based on some kind of religion to some extent. But such knowledge had been purged so long ago that they couldn't remember which one exactly. Probably one where giant armored women were common.

It wasn't sure why, but they made a beeline towards the church. They should be a complete blank slate - the result of the perfect conditions they were supposed to be kept in. No information gained, no information lost. It should not have any memories - no feelings outside of the burning rage to just consume all that dared to oppose the light and all that fell under its banner. This felt like something different though. A feeling familiar, thought long forgotten. Echoing about within their head, silence made a luxury at that moment. So it stopped listening. Nothing good could come from listening to that nagging feeling.

At the church, the armored angel came to a stop. Gazing through the stained glass, what looked to be a man was waiting for someone at the altar. While it would assume to be a woman they were waiting for, something told it that this was somehow not the case. Why they were able to be so certain of that possibility annoyed th- The man's focus was moving.

"Ophani?" the man announces, gaze meeting that of Ophanimon Falldown Mode. Pausing for a brief moment, it moves away from the glass. Memories meant nothing to them. Just a reminder of material things

Their eyes slid shut. The man is a young boy now. He's kicking about his sister's dolls. They're all dressed in makeshift outfits meant to evoke that of a 'magical girl'. Not that it knows exactly what qualifies as a magical girl in the first place. Do they always need to be girls or is that just a suggestion? Did the outfits need to be colorful and girly, or just a general dress would do here?

"Stop that!" his sister screeches, her cries going on deaf ears. It doesn't see a problem in any of this. If she really wanted her brother to stop, she should've intervened. But no, they went to mom to snitch. Because of course they did. The woman makes her entrance and the battle is over. Good triumphing over evil. Yadda yadda yadda.

The scene starts again, yet something is different. Both the boy and girl are older. But why does the boy look so sad? Why are their cuts on their arms? Better yet, why is it thinking about those sorts of questions? Their job was to purge the darkness and make sure the light had a place. Not asking questions that could get in the way of whatever mission they were on at the moment.

Eyes opening up, it found they were still staring through the glass. The man's gaze shifts away, but it continued to look at them. For this occasion, they were dressed in a white suit with lace decorating the top. As for footwear, that looked to be a set of white shoes. Fancy ones you would rent out for an event. What appeared to be a priest had taken the position at the altar. But there was now another man standing besidef the initial one.

Unlike his companion, he was dressed in a suit and had a funny looking mask over his eyes and a hat on his head. A ring could be made out on his finger. So it focused back on the other man. Lo and behold, he too had a ring.

"Observing…" it chimes, robotic tone echoing into the building. For the moment, they watch through the glass. A handful of people did notice them. But they were given little mind and it was fine. It didn't really pay attention to them either. Even as the pretty flowers were thrown up into the air.

Afterwards, the people within the church scattered. Where they went didn't matter. It would just he-

"Ophani!"

Or would've, had someone not wrapped their arms around one of their legs. Looking down, she finds the man. Pretty easy to reduce him

"It's me! Steve!" the man shouts, Ophanimon Falldown Mode looking down at him. While that name sounded familiar, it couldn't place where. Yet the longer they stare, the more familiar that this person becomes. "I'm your partner! We used to play around after school whenever it was nice!"

His words ring out, tears rolling down Ophani's face. Bending down, Steve lets go of their leg. Instead, he carefully goes for a hug around the torso. Their partner does the same, but not before eyeing up the other man.

"Husband?" they inquire, the man nodding and grabbing hold of Steve's hand. Both their rings shined brightly in the sunset.

"Yeah." the other man remarks, entering the hug. Ophani doesn't mind, though. They can get used to sharing. It's better that way. For both Steve and her.

.

"Hmmmph." Beelzemon muttered, flinging the scrapbook away. He didn't understand why this thing needed to fill him in like that. Better yet, what the fuck was that tune playing in the background? Catchy sure, it just didn't fit. Maybe one of those eighties death metal albums. The ones with the creepy looking people all dressed. "So they're married now. Good for them. I still don't see why you need to be the one babysitting me."

Ophani's lenses shifted color slightly, almost looking more red than normal. If that was even possible. Probably was.

"Family now." the fallen angel digimon cooed, looking down upon the biker. Tempting as it was to press him close to her chest for a hug, that would result in the destruction of Beelzemon. Steve would not like any of that. Neither would Keith. Yeah, he definitely wouldn't be all too happy. She doubted he would be anyway when he heard the list of crimes that his partner had committed. "Look past misdeeds."

Beelzemon looked away, muttering something under his breath. She most definitely knew. This was bad. Even if the other members of the gang did eventually find him, what was the point? You had a being raised from the fires of the darkest parts of the digital world - stripped to the core of everything that made an Ophanimon an Ophanimon and then let loose on the enemies of the light. Enemies like him.

"Play this cool." he thought and looked about the yard. He just needed one little opportunity. Anything after that would need to be thought up on the fly. "What do you like to do in your free time, Ophani?"

Ophani looked towards the house. Currently, Steve was hard at work baking cookies. Nothing her size, but just right for their spouse. They seemed like a nice person. Their building logo was a nice big blade. She would kill for a smaller one. Figuratively. Not literally. Enough trouble was caused the last time that had been said.

"Making sure you don't get out." the angel digimon cooed and carefully cradled her companion within. This was going so well. Maybe next she could show him some of her favorite shows.


	6. Story 6: This light of mine

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Bakemon was absolutely done with this world. So what if he had a human partner at one time. One way or another, he would eventually get back to her. But to be dropped right before Halloween? This was a sick, twisted joke. The sort only pulled by entities with little in the way of empathy.

"Is the holiday over yet?" he called out, poking his head through the door. The last thing he needed was someone to see him and freak out. Especially in the one place that he actually considered a home. All he needed to do was flip the light switch and look for a bedroom. "Now where is that light switch?"

Bakemon slowly slid a hand across the wall. The light switch had to be here. No way the house had been remodeled in the last seven or eight years since he last floated in here. If they had, what was the deal with moving something fundamental as a light switch? How else were people supposed to see in this stupid place? Just bumble about in the hopes that they would find the exit? Quite an easy way to get sued over. His most recent case involved an incident like that. Except instead of a light switch, it was an extinguished torch. The principle was still the same.

Waving his hand about, the ghost digimon caught something smooth. This was most definitely the light switch. If not, this was a strange red herring. Why a house even needed one in the first place was a massive infraction on the housing code. Once he found her, there was going to be one heck of a conversation. Then maybe hugs and kisses. No real need going total lawyer after so many years away. Especially if he got a good explanation on what the hell this was about. Of course, that all depends on if he could actually find the damn switch. Giving the smooth object a tap, he waited a couple seconds. Nothing. That was odd. Something should've tu-

A loud crash erupted from the ground. Bakemon looked about, deciding now was a good time to abandon his search for a source of light and instead try and figure what he had just knocked over. Accusations of vandalism were not the way he wished to start out his time back on this side.

"Sorry about that." Bakemon whispered and scanned the room one more time. The temptation was there to continue his search for the light switch, but he had a feeling that would be cut short before he could get going again. Instead, it would be best to maybe pick up whatever he had knocked over. If the object in question could be set back up in the first place.

"Bakemon, is that you?" a voice called out, the beam of a flashlight bouncing about the room. Bakemon nodded, slowly approaching the source of the light. Even in the darkness, this one single light source was more than enough to illuminate the entire room. What had once been a plain white side room was now a playroom. Bright blue walls decorated with white clouds and airplanes were brought together by a carpet meant to mimic a town. A moderately abridged one.

"Lisa?" the ghost digimon answered as he approached the flashlight holder. Even with a couple inches and a nightgown instead of actual clothes, Bakemon could make out the details. The locks of brunette hair, those adorable triangular earrings that she had received from a friend as a birthday present. Those hazel orbs of her looked to shine brighter than any time he had seen before. If that was possible. "How have you been?"

Lisa held a finger to her mouth, motioning for her partner to come over. Bakemon complied.

"Fine." she whispered, grabbing hold of the ghost digimon's hand. Pulling him out of the room, a short walk down the hall followed. "Okay. Now we can talk."

Bakemon nodded, looking around his new surroundings. Unlike the room they had just left, the hallway was plain and not that interesting. Left bare after so many years, it felt… lonely. How could someone even live in a place like this?

"I came out as ace." Lisa continued and got a nod from her partner. Part of her had expected him to crack some dumb joke after knocking something over. But to see him silent and thinking, he clearly understood. "Everyone was completely confused and didn't understand what I was talking about. Eventually, I cut ties with everyone and came back here."

Bakemon's gaze swiveled back over to her.

"I'm back now, so you haven't lost everyone." Bakemon countered and got a chuckle from his partner. Nice as that was to know, that didn't explain what was up with that room and it's lack of light switches. Especially the latter. "Though, what was with that room I found myself in?"

Another chuckle, this one bringing Lisa's hand to his. Pulling him further along the hallway, the pair found themselves in the living room. Between the generally sparse furniture and the lack of anything else in the room, Bakemon's attention turned to a large stack of papers. A couple loose ones had been scattered about, which provided for the perfect opportunity to look this over.

"I'm adopting a kid." Lisa answered, sitting herself down in front of the papers. "Of course, that means a lot of paperwork from all the various agencies and people involved. Right now, he's staying in my room."

Bakemon nodded, floating down to the floor beside his partner. While nowhere as complicated as some digital world legal documents, it was up there.

"Does that make me their ghost father then?" Bakemon added and got a groan in return. He was used to it. Just part of this weird, wonderful life he was living in.

* * *

Notes:

I'm aware that Bakemon are usually shown to be intangible, but this is more fun.


	7. Story 7: Figures

I don't own digimon. This is also a nice general reminder that Black Lives Matter and that Trans Rights are human rights.

* * *

Ranamon just didn't get it. All these figurines on display - dressed in their perfect scantily-clad outfits with their perfectly shaped proportions. She had tried to get a couple digimon to sculpt some based off her divine body, but the results were always never worth it. Usually, the figurines were either ugly or ended up getting smashed in one of her tantrums. The latter was just a side effect of the former.

"If I didn't know any better, I would assume that I've only been gone for a day." the legendary warrior of water announced, picking up a figurine and looking it over. Seriously. Parents don't want their boys playing with barbies, but this is okay? These were obviously more fancy, expensive Barbie dolls who's clothes couldn't be taken off and instead spent their entire lives on shelves gathering dust. In other words, glorified miniature statues. Statues not of her, of course. No one ever chiseled statues of her. Even when she personally commissioned the local stonemasons to carve them for her personal abode. She had even gone through the trouble of getting food and even lodging for them. But no, they refused to set foot in her underwater lair. Even the amphibious ones. They could've at least shown up to at least say no, but that was asking too much on their parts. At least the rest of the room looked kind of nice. The flag with cyan, pink and white stripes hanging on the wall looked awfully cute, even if she couldn't remember what country (if any) it could belong too. As for the rest of the room, the shag blue carpet was definitely not the best choice. Ignoring the puddles of water her feet created wherever she went, anyone knocked off a shelf or a desk would be an absolute nightmare to find. At least the walls had been given some kind of wallpaper. The little light provided her head gems made it a challenge to discern the color and or pattern. Be a cinch if this were somehow an underwater room. Like in that one game her human played. Did he still have all those plushies? She would give just about anything to hug them without creating a soggy pile of stuffed animals. She could remember all the times that she was scolded by the mother of this establishment. Maybe if the stuffed animals weren't so cute, this wouldn't be a problem.

"I need to find him." Ranamon thought, flicking the light switch on. The lights turned on, the wallpaper now in view. A nice seaside scene, one thing stuck out. Had she noticed it before, Ranamon would probably have cracked a smile. She still would, even if the surprise had been 'ruined'.

Staring back at her was a giant acrylic sticker of her. The pose was of her making a hand gesture. Probably came from a picture snapped when Tyrone was younger. Yeah, that's where it came from. Always had an eye for photography like this. In her opinion, at least. Not that her opinion counted for anything. Just because that one fucking time she and Kazemon got into a brawl. Between the claims they were a couple (her heart did flutter when she thought about the fairy digimon) and that she was only good for that one bout. The latter was absolutely damning to her pride. Kind of hard to be taken seriously in the face of that.

"What do you think?"

Turning around, the warrior of water did a double take. Part of her debated calling forth her rain stream, but the space definitely didn't sport it. Especially in the face of the tall black woman more than capable of punching the cloud away or perhaps people had things to dissipate clouds. Like vacuums. Not that one was actually in arm's reach. Even then, pointing a vacuum cleaner at your digimon partner would be absolutely rude. They did get a heads-up when they were supposed to arrive. Some kind of pervading thought to maybe find their digivice and you know keep it on hand for the inevitable arrival of their partner. Or just a text. Whatever was easier for Homeostasis or the Three Celestials to do. They did do things. Even if Seraphimon had to be kept under constant surveillance so he didn't do something stupid and just die. An almost daily occurrence. Hopefully, Ophanimon was doing alright.

Pushing that thought out of her mind, Ranamon's attention turned to her partner. Definitely not a Tyrone, but what could their new name be. If she did have a new name in the first place.

"It's nice, Ty…" the legendary warrior of water started, her partner raising a hand up. Grabbing hold of Ranamon's hand, a squeeze followed.

"Tyreen." the woman answered, pulling her digimon partner in for a hug. "Want to go for a swim? I imagine that you're probably pretty dry."

Ranamon nodded, finding herself pulled through the house and into the backyard of all places. Lit by the stars, the lawn met a mix of massive stepping stones and exotic plants. But the star of the show had to be the massive pool in the middle. One of those 'infinity' pools, there was more than enough room for her and Tyreen to swim about. Maybe even invite a friend over. Maybe after a good night's sleep or something. For once, that sounded kind of nice. A nice hot breakfast, followed by a swim. What more could she want in life?

* * *

Notes:

To answer the obvious question of where one could possible get a life-sized 'sticker' of one's digimon partner - Fathead. Yes, that's the name of the company. Not to be confused with either the musician or the fish.

Ranamon does not have an actual way to create water. She can manipulate it, but not create it. She can create clouds though... Which feels more like something that Kazemon would do. Oops.

Beyond that, I've been debating whether or not to include the international digidestined in this. Maybe even Ryo. Not sure what exactly I would do with him, but I'll probably figure something out.


	8. Story 8: Bottled up

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Larry could see the first sign of trouble well before his vehicle even reached the driveway. Between the door thrown off into the snow, the partially-filled footsteps and the chunks of siding that now sat on the ground, he had a pretty good idea of what awaited within. Didn't make it any easier. How many years had it been?

"Goblimon, whoever the hell taught you that the right way to open a door was to rip it off the hinges!" the handyman announced, trying his hardest to ignore the travesty done to the door. He had distinctly taught his digimon partner the proper way to open up a door. How he managed to forget that was beyond him. Probably picked up back in the digital world from one of his friends.

"Why does it matter?" a voice called out, a snowball following right behind. Doesn't come close to hitting him. "You left me."

Larry muttered something under his breath and headed through the doorway. The rug alone was absolutely trashed, which was nothing on the gashes in the recently painted white walls. He could at least fix that. Whether or not the same could be said about his relationship with his partner, remained to be seen. Not that he would let that stop him from making his way closer to the destruction. Pushing through the discarded food and other things thrown to the ground, there his partner stood. Gorging out on booze and whatever holiday treats remained. Probably not very much, the result of everything having to be transported to a party that he was helping to set up.

"Personally, I would've loved it if you had been allowed to stay." Larry countered and flicked the switch. The lights came on, the little goblin digimon illuminated in the act. Not that this was really going to stop his consumption of the eggnog. "But no, the stupid man that supposedly knows everything was all like 'you're shit out of luck' and then went off to drown his sorrows in booze or something stupid."

Goblimon rolled his eyes. Of course his partner would go with that excuse - one of far too many in order to weasel his way out of having any part of the blame. Some things never changed. Much as you wanted them too, that wasn't how the real world worked. No, you either stood in the way of progress or let it sweep you up. Yes, you could be somewhere in the middle - sooner or later, you would need to decide which end of the spectrum you're on. It was clear that Larry was on the right end - the same place it was when he had left. How pathetic.

"Really? You're not even going to counter me on that front?" the handyman continued and stepped towards his partner. "Or has the eggnog and everything el-"

Goblimon's club brought an end to that question, knocking the handyman back. Time slowed down, his partner's trajectory colliding right with the wall. Dropping his weapon to the ground, he rushed over. This wasn't how he wanted this to go at all. Mad as he had been, this had gone a touch too far. How the hell was he going to fix this.

"No, you're right." he muttered and set his club down. Rushing over to his partner, he dug into his pants. He had to have some kind of cellular device. Or at least something that would enable communications to other people. "There we go."

Pulling the device out, it took a couple of attempts to turn it on. When did people switch over from something that looked like a makeshift to a thin brick? Probably a recent development. Her number should be there. They were dating the last time he checked. Only one way to find out.

Pressing the calling 'button' (or whatever people these days referred to it as), he made sure to hold the phone up a couple inches away. Didn't really feel right. Neither did holding it close.

"Hello, this is Examon speaking." the voice on the other end announced, Goblimon nearly dropping the phone. Wait. 'They' were her

"This is Goblimon. Is Natalie available?" the goblin digimon remarked, waiting a second for a response on the other end.

"Yes. What the hell happened with Larry this time?" Natalie muttered and Goblimon took a deep breath. How the hell was he going to explain this to her? 'Oh hey, I got pissed at my partner and hit him into a wall - knocking him out.' Actually, that sounded right. At least, in a fashion that didn't make him sound like a complete asshole who got stuck in his own head over an argument that he should've long gotten over.

"I hit him into a wall and he hasn't woken up." Goblimon answered, only to get a frustrated shriek from the other end of the phone. Definitely a better way to phrase that. Now, he had the brunt of a possible royal knight to deal with on top of a frustrated ex-girlfriend. What a day this had become. "I'm guessing you're already heading over."

Music echoed out of the phone - a familiar, even if possibly overused tune. Of course that was what played. Always far too loud for whatever situation is. Heck, he couldn't think of a time when the use of the music was actually justified. Let alone something to get excited over. Especially when you have no one to actually digivolve with in the first place. Didn't happen then, probably wouldn't happen now.

"At least we're back together." he muttered and sat down by his partner. Letting out a deep breath, he did one more check. With the rate that Examon could fly, there really wasn't much to worry about. "Guess we have that going for us."

* * *

Notes:

Taking a bit of a break from Digital Dungeons, so a couple entries related to the holidays for Tales of the Returned are coming.


	9. Story 9: Truly a Lady

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Story 9

Truly a Lady

LadyDevimon slowly peaked her gaze down the hall. Between all the white and gold architecture of the palace and the lack of any real cat digimon, part of her wished she could be back on the Dark Continent. At least there she could maybe actually get work done. Not deal with the incessant voice within their head demanding they pick their friend up and take them back to the real world. Which meant making sure her room was clean, say goodbye to her roommate and packed everything she owned into a suitcase. At least work could be completed while she was not in the digital world. The one saving grace in this storm of awfulness. If a digimon like herself could call it that. More bullshit than anything.

"I get that you're mad about this." her boss - a lilithmon of all digimon countered, getting a glare in return. "Some of us would love to go back and see our humans, even if it's just to go one place and catch up."

LadyDevimon's gaze returned to the hall. What the hell was keeping her up? She had to have gotten the same message. In through one ear, streamed through a mix of useless information and maybe, just maybe it would actually reach her head. By that point, the information was absolutely garbled up and not usable. Just because they looked nice and hot didn't mean they actually have anything to use it on. Like right now. Why else would there be an absurd number of holes where they should be doors. Was it really that hard to open one? Yes, you would need a variable number of them to accommodate celestial digimon, but that shouldn't be hard.

"There you are!" a voice announced, the bodacious body of an Angewomon making their way over to the pair. "Oh. Miss Lilithmon. I'm guessing you want me to take LadyDevimon to the Real World?"

Lilithmon nodded, focusing on her companion. LadyDevimon gave her boss a sigh and walked over. Why did she have to make this even more awkward than it already was. Couldn't she cle- She probably couldn't, no matter how many claims of divine sight he clients claimed to possess. More likely they got lucky in those situations.

"Can I trust you to not be an asshole?" Lilithmon remarked and got an eye roll in return. Bringing a single nail up, purple goop began to form around the digit. "I get you don't want this. But you have a partner. Like it or not, you need them as much as they need you."

LadyDevimon didn't even look her way. When they left, their human had their shit together. Got the job they wanted and were heading to college. Or something along those lines. What more of a need was there for her to go down. Especially with Ms Wannabe Stripper to take her back.

"If you'll lay off the cats for a little bit." LadyDevimon countered and got a nod from her boss. Her fingers come down, Angewomon using this as her opportunity to grab her visitor. "Hey! You tricked me!"

Lilithmon didn't answer, already out of sight by the time that her employee could even utter her sentence. Of course she was. Actually getting the last word was a skill cultivated over god knows how many years. Not that she cared enough to think about it. No, her thoughts turned too wherever the fuck this teleporter was. Why did they even get a teleporter in the first place? They couldn't be sending digimon through that often. Or perhaps that was how homeostasis got to brunettes. Rumors, the latter was.

"Anything you want to do once we're on the other side?" Angewomon chimed in, silence serving as her companion's response. "I know it's been a couple mont-"

LadyDevimon's gaze shot over. For someone who saw the sun on a daily basis, she would've thought the angelic digimon would have a far better grasp of time than her. But no, she was asking too much.

"A couple years, at least." she countered, forcing her hand free. This was the worst. Still more than likely to go downhill. "Do you at least have something to cover the... you-know."

Angewomon shook her head, the hallway way funneling out into another room. More white and gold, at least here someone decided that carpet around the possibly dangerous teleporter was a-okay. Even then, the actual 'teleporter' part of the room was just a large metal disc on the floor. A panel was placed in front of it. While LadyDevimon didn't recognize the buttons, hopefully Angewomon knew what she was doing.

"Why would I need a shirt? This is more than enough for most situations." Angewomon countered and approached the panel. Tapping a couple buttons, blue light erupted from the disc. "We can both fly. If someone cops a feeling or complains, we'll just ascend up to the sky."

Giving a nod, LadyDevimon slowly approached the disk. Stepping on, Angewomon followed right behind. Grabbing hold of her companion's hand, the blue light erupted forth - engulfing their vision and swirling about in the most disorienting fashion imaginable. Was this how they got back here all the years ago? Swirled about until their vision couldn't handle any more of this and then transported across worlds? No, the journey back was perhaps more gentle. Something involving a swirling mix of colors and weird outlines. Nothing like this at all. Didn't matter. They just needed to wait for the blue light to disappear and give way to something. Usually the sky, maybe even solid ground. She was fine with either. But to be faced down with this white stuff? This was absolutely evil. Rich, coming from her - an accountant of all digimon.

"Do you have some idea on where we need to go?" she inquired, scanning the endless stream of white for any sign of a place to change. Yes, Angewomon declined the offer for a shirt. But that wasn't going to stop her from at least looking refined. Or coming close to that.

"Kinda?" Angewomon remarked and pointed out in the distance. An apartment building stood triumphantly in the face of this piling snow. The Examon flying right by was definitely not part of it. "Oh. I guess we'll need to tread carefully if one of the royal knights is lurking about in a place like this."

LadyDevimon nodded and jumped. Floating above the snow, she made sure to grab her suitcase. If nothing else, no real use in delaying the inevitable. Looking at Angewomon, her partner was right behind. Did get her a front-row view of the angelic digimon's bust. How did those things even stay on? Better yet, how the heck did Angewomon ignore the banging. Probably some bullshit bonding agent or something dumb. Didn't really matter - the journey to the apartment building short and sweet. Now where were they going to actually enter the building. Even with the top terrace, actually seeing how they were going to get in was easier said than done. Why did it have to be snowing? That would've made this not a challenge. Perhaps a cake walk? Yeah, that. They had to have some kind of way to enter. Would be o-

"Lala?"

The glass door slid open, a woman passing through. What looked to be a fancy dress covered her entire body with puffed-up shoulders and what appear to be court shoes of all footwear. Short white gloves cover her hands, going quite well with the emerald earrings hanging from her blonde hair. Done up in a bun, emerald eyes were right on LadyDevimon.

"Denise, it's uh… been a while." LadyDevimon cooed and looked away. Doesn't stop her partner from pulling her in for a massive hug - their lips coming ever so close. No way she was actually going to do that. Outside of that one time at that party. A complete accident, the result of a bit too much cups of punch. Yes, she slept with her. That was all something she didn't want to repeat… right? Why was she so willing to see this through. Her heart (or the digital equivalent of such an organ).

"Best of luck, you two." Angewomon cooed and floated up into the sky. LadyDevimon didn't even focus on her. Not worth the trouble. Karma would truly come her way. Right now, work could come later. She needed to catch up. Maybe see where the night leads.

* * *

Notes:

You know, we don't have a lot of fics where the 'Lady' part of LadyDevimon is on display. Which is a shame, since it kind of makes her less interesting than Angewomon (who's appearance and being a partner digimon are the only things going for her).

As for her, we'll be revisiting her soon enough. ;).


	10. This same dance

I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Natalie Blackwood could already feel the surge of emotions swirling through her head in the face of the fresh snow.

"Sorry to put you two up to this." she remarked and patted Examon's head. Excited as Dracomon (Blue) was to start up their marathon of the original Sailor Moon and possibly even this Glitter Force show, duty called. And by duty, she meant going to check on her ex-boyfriend. No matter what she did, it always came back to him. Not for lack of trying. Just how things worked out in their weird and mysterious ways. Perhaps that was why their relationship didn't work out - among other things. The rumors that she was into girls didn't help matters and her interest in woodworking of all professions was just enough to make most people turn their heads and not pay her any mind. Thankfully, most of that had subsided by the time she took up the position as the shop teacher in this town. Shaping the next generation of woodworkers and makers, she had her work cut out. Not that many people really cared. The fact that her position wasn't cut in the face of improving test scores was nothing short of a miracle.

"We'll live." the combined voice of Examon answered, their grip on Natalie shifting ever so slightly. At this height, any fall would result in their partner's death. Tarnished as the Royal Knight's reputation was, there was no need to engage in deeds that would darken it even further - accident or not. "This is the last time we're doing this. It's hard enough flying without moron in my head. Even worse when he is in my head."

A nod, their passenger's focus turning to the buildings below. So small, they looked like miniatures - the sort that Yggdrasil would set up and then have them stomp as a form of stress relief. Probably not something other digimon did, but it kind of worked. Sometimes. Alphamon universally threw a fit during that time. That's what they got for being an unlikable asshole to everyone. Like seriously, no one fucking cares that Yggdrasil stopped buying those fish-shaped crackers. Better yet, where the fuck were they getting the crackers in the first place? Those only came from the real world. Must have some kind of dealer. Why the hell they would be selling crackers of all things. Better things had to be offered on the dark markets. Or wherever non-royal knights got their contraband. Didn't matter.

"We should be coming upon the house." Natalie remarked and pointed down below. Within all the snow blowing about, the remains of a door stuck out like a sore thumb. The beer cans and other miscellaneous food items that are joined by the door. "Guess that's one more job for me. You can land here, Examon. And no, you cannot defuse."

The royal knight slowly descended towards the snow, trying his best to ignore the flakes coming close to his mouth. Even if he could catch a flake or two, what good would it do? Part of him would get on his case for being an absolute moron and reprimand him. Not that he was really that stupid. Just his other part thought that. And that opinion was somehow the only one that 'mattered'. Now, things were different. No more did they need to have that stupid voice in their own head with all it's put-downs and slander. Now, he could make his own decisions without someone arbitrarily deciding that they were wrong or override them with something 'better'. The thought alone was absolutely intoxicating, but the implications could be debated some other time. Maybe when they weren't in a blizzard, dealing with the fallout of choices made long after they left this world for the first time.

"I'll handle this. So please stay." Natalie remarked and carefully dropped down into the powdered white step. Dusting herself off, it was just a matter of following the partially filled imprints and ignore the swirling storm of memories within her own. A mix of good and bad, of times spent with digimon and the time after. Of memorable dates and far too many breakups. Everyone who had seen them said they were perfect for each other - her Cinderella to his Prince Charming. Of course, most people forgot that Cinderella was a moron who needed to be super enhanced in order for anyone to actually care about her. And how Prince Charming was more concerned about a fucking slipper made out of the most fragile material possible and not something like her personality. The very thing that can make or break a relationship. "Goblimon, where are you?"

The thud of a club hitting something echoed across the walls. Had to be close. Picking up the pace, Natalie pushed through the snow drift. Stepping up onto the porch, time was taken to stomp out of her boots. Last thing Lary needed was having to clean up another mess. Especially one created by his ex-girlfriend in an attempt to help him. Nonetheless, she passed through the doorway. There Lary laid. Dressed in a dirty gray shirt and a pair of jeans, he had a peaceful look to him. Not that one could really see his carrot orange hair or twinkling green eyes at the moment.

"Thank Yggdrasil you're here." Goblimon remarked, Natalie taking this as her opportunity to look over Lary's wounds. Even if it was clearly obvious what had happened. "This was how I found him. Not comple-"

A look cut off that sentence, the goblin digimon's gaze turning to the ground. She most definitely knew what had happened. Even if he did try to give her the run around, she would see right through and punish him accordingly. Probably hard labor. What else could she possibly threaten him with?

Instead, Natalie pulled out her phone and began dialing. Hopefully, the snow wouldn't prevent the ambulance from taking too long. In the meantime, she would need to stay and wait.

* * *

Notes:

Last one for a bit. Back to Digital Dungeons.


	11. Story 11: Do feed the birds

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Bianca was not amused by the situation she found herself in. Why did this have to happen during the one big meeting of the year? The digimon of her fellow employees were already annoying enough - between the biyomon flapping their wings about overhead and the goblimon intent on swinging their clubs about at invisible foes, the odds of actual work being done at this meeting were next to none. Did they really need to be up so close to their human partners? Wasn't their cubicles good enough? At least there they could not be as distracting. Even if it somehow turned out to be the opposite, it was a good starting point towards a solution.

"Are we all ready to begin?" she announced, waiting a couple moments for her co-workers' attention to shift away from their digimon and over to her. Absolutely simple. How this was so hard of a concept to understand, the engineer didn't know. "Good. First order of business is the update on the improved fe-"

Of course, every Biyomon in the room took this as their cue to swoop down and be at eye contact level with her. It was obvious that these feeders were for regular birds, not digimon. Why couldn't they get that into their heads? If they were, the feeder itself would be absolutely massive and require an entirely different kind of birdseed. Birdseed that didn't exist yet. Even if this supposed 'seed' were to exist, that would require a whole different set of processes from the manufacturing of bird feeders and other devices to how exactly the feed would be marketed in the first place. Well beyond Bianca's wheelhouse. If it weren't, they would already be in the process of getting it made.

"For regular birds, not bird digimon." Bianca announced, her statement doing little in the way of the biyomon leaving her alone. If anything, they took this as an excuse to get even closer to the engineer. She hadn't forgotten to get rid of the last birdseed on her, right? She clearly remembered setting the bag down before remembering that she needed to also grab the mockups for the feeders… that she also forgot to bring along with her. Because of course she did. Such a simple, stupid mistake. Bianca knew she was better than this… usually. These last couple of days had been a challenge to hold it all together. With all the arrivals of digimon and what felt like an endless stream of vague and annoying texts trying to tell her something. What that something was? Fuck if she knew. Whatever it was, they didn't respect her privacy one bit. All the attempts to block this mystery person ended up backfiring. Didn't help when the messages got passive aggressive and full of threats. Did the people running this shit have so much time on their hands that they could be cyberbullying a random woman they had no way of actually knowing. The nerve of those fuckers. "I do not have any seed on me. Stopping crowding me like I did. Better yet, don't you all have humans that can feed you. You don't need a handout."

The biyomon shook their heads.

"Since Parrotmon isn't here, you're our boss. We just thought it was a good idea to introduce ourselves." one of the biyomon explained and got a look from Bianca. That was the most ridiculous thing she had heard all day. Better yet, wouldn't their human partners be the ones w-

"Sup." a voice announced and the engineer spun around. Standing before her was a large green parrot thing.

"Alberdo?" one of her co-workers announced and the green parrot thing made his way over. A slap followed, knocking the employee and his chair over to the wall. No worse for the wear, outside of a small headache and a bout of confusion.

"Don't you dare ever compare me to that stupid puppet… Even if he does seem like a nice guy." the parrot thing announced and walked back over to Bianca. Letting out a deep breath, they dug into their feathers. Eventually, a digivice came out. Relatively plain, outside of a couple scratches from possible misuse. Handing it over to Bianca, the engineer couldn't quite make heads or tails on any of this. For the life of her, she couldn't remember having a digimon partner in the first place. She had no reason to not believe Parrotmon, but that didn't change the fact that her frame of reference for any of this. "Uh… sorry about not being there for any hard things you might have faced."

Their words rolled out and Bianca accepted the digivice. Slipping it into her blouse pocket, she reached out for Parrotmon's claw and gave it a squeeze.

"The thought is nice, but this is a big meeting. Could you wait until after to catch up?" Bianca remarked and got a nod from her partner. Parrotmon made their way to the corner. "As I was saying, the update on the improved bird feeders. Has progress been made?"


	12. Story 12: Courage of Honesty

I don’t own digimon.

* * *

To say that Aegiochusmon was afraid was the understatement of the year. For all his accomplishments as a member of the Olympos XII and guarding the Digimon Sovereigns, he should be more than prepared for a simple visit to his partner. Tons of digimon had gotten the chance to do the same thing as him. All of them were still alive. Or at least, that was how Homeostasis claimed it to be. Whether or not they were actually telling the truth remained to be seen. For all he knew, his partner had moved and left behind their digivice in the process. Entirely possible and an easy out. But the strongman digimon didn't take easy outs. Or at least, outs that would make him look like a coward. Especially after that run-in with Mervamon. Last thing he needed was a run-in with her.

"I can do this." the ultimate digimon thought and tapped the front door. His fist passed right through with relative ease, sending a small chunk of the door into what Aegiochusmon suspected was the living room. Part of him sincerely hoped that was not the case. He hadn't even made an updated first impression and already he had destroyed part of his partner’s home. What the heck was he going to do now? No way he was going to be let in. No, he would just be told to head back to the digital world and branded a coward.

"Aegiochusmon?" a voice called out, the ultimate digimon forcing his focus to the door. On the other side, a muscular man stood on the other side. Dressed in a plain t-shirt and jeans, Aegiochusmon felt smaller somehow. He was usually taller in his other form. But considering that said other form would not fit in the apartment hallway. How the people who built these places didn’t plan for that was beyond his abilities. Even if it wasn’t, this limitation would still be quite dumb.

"Bruce?" Aegiochusmon called out, watching the door open up. With Bruce's body on full display, he felt even smaller. He wasn’t even sure how that was possible. Even more so now that he had punched a hole through the door. “Uh… sorry ab-”

He didn’t get to finish that sentence, Bruce choosing instead to pull him in for a hug. Care was taken to not mess with his red arm, of course. Last thing either of them needed was for an unintentional explosion or something else stupid. He didn’t even ask for this stupid thing. It just kind of appeared one day and he had to deal with it.

“Eh. That door needed to be replaced anyway.” Bruce answered and let go of his digimon partner. Taking a step back, Aegiochusmon took this as his opportunity to stare further into the apartment. When was the last time he had seen this place? Had to be a bit before getting whisked back to the digital world. Yeah. That sounded about right. Even from this restricted angle, it was almost as if he stepped back in time. The burgundy walks still shined in the most awful way possible, while the gray tile floor had been maintained - regardless of everything that was thrown at it in the intervening years. A true testament to Bruce's father and his decision-making skills. Long as you ignored the barf-colored sofa that he claimed was a steal. If by steal, he meant 'found on the side of the road and needed to be burned', then yes. It was absolutely a steal of sorts. If by steal he was referring to the criminally low price that he paid to get it off of their hands, then it very much wasn't. Currently, a variety of people that Aegiochusmon didn't recognize sat on the accursed piece of furniture. While the ultimate digimon's first guess was family, there was nothing else in the apartment to really suggest that to be the case. Which only left one other option - friends. "How have things been going with you?"

Aegiochusmon's gaze swiveled back over to his partner. Taking a moment to compose himself, he let out a deep breath. Where would be the best place to start? Right after departing from this world? When he became part of the Olympos XII? Some mix of the two? This shouldn't be that difficult for him. Telling tales was just one small part of his job. But whenever his gaze met that of Bruce's, he turned into a quivering pile of worries and anxiety. Thank Yggdrasil that none of his co-workers could see him right now. What would they think of him now? Probably just throw him out and leave him be as a worthless failure.

"Aegiochusmon?" Bruce announced, snapping his partner out from this funk. Focusing back on him, a squeeze to the hand followed.

"I'm now a member of the Olympos XII." the ultimate digimon started as he let go of Bruce's hand. Heading further into the apartment, he tried his best to keep his focus on just his partner. “I have lots of friends and have gotten to see a ton of the digital world. It's quite an interesting place. Once you get all the various transport methods down."

Bruce nodded and came to a stop. Looking to the group of friends who had gathered on his absolutely hideous couch, he gave a wave. Their attention swiveled over, Aegiochusmon doing his best to not look away. Most of these people here were new to him. Friends from Bruce’s work? Probably. Didn’t look to have any digimon. Or they left their partner digimon at home.

“Oh hey. Your boyfriend finally returned.” one of them announced, Aegiochusmon’s face turning pink. Boyfriend? What the heck were they even talking about? No way they could actually be serious. Even if Bruce was super duper hot now, they probably weren’t serious replies.

“Cut him slack.” his partner announced and turned his focus back to him. Letting out a deep breath, time was taken to compose himself. “Unless you want that as well.” 

In that moment, Aegiochusmon felt absolutely tiny. But in a good way. The sort he hadn’t felt in some time.

“Of course.” he whispered and cracked a smile.


End file.
